According to the statement made by the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources, the agreements aim to transfer Türkiye's engineering, technology and industrial know-how to joint projects.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan met with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung as part of his visit to South Korea.
Alparslan Bayraktar, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, who accompanied President Erdoğan during his visit, attended the meeting between the delegations chaired by the two leaders.
Following the talks, three agreements were signed between the two countries in the fields of energy and mining.
In this context, Minister Bayraktar and Korean Minister of Climate, Energy and Environment Sungwhan Kim signed the "Memorandum of Understanding on Strengthening Cooperation in the Field of Energy".
With the memorandum of understanding, the two countries will cooperate in the fields of clean energy policies and reduction of carbon emissions, nuclear energy and nuclear power plant construction projects, renewable energy, hydrogen, energy efficiency applications, smart grids and new energy technologies.
"Türkiye-Korea Energy Conversion Forum" will be established in order to follow the implementation of the memorandum of understanding in the field and to create a sustainable basis for dialogue.
The forum, which will convene alternately once a year in Turkey and South Korea, will serve as a high-level executive mechanism where nuclear power plant investments, technology integration, financing models and joint venture opportunities will be discussed.
Collaboration in critical minerals and rare earth elements
Minister Bayraktar also signed the "Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation in Natural Resources and Mining Fields" with Korean Minister of Trade, Industry and Resources Jung-Kwan Kim.
The agreement aims to increase bilateral cooperation in the natural resources and mining sectors. In this context, it is aimed to detect, process, refine and recycle minerals, especially rare earth elements, critical minerals and magnets, and to carry out joint R&D projects in these areas.
The two countries will also share experience in autonomous mining, artificial intelligence integration and environmentally friendly mining practices.
Cooperation for the financing of nuclear power projects
Within the scope of the visit, the "Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation Regarding Nuclear Power Project Financing" was signed between TÜNAŞ and KEXIM.
The agreement was signed by General Manager Necati Yamaç on behalf of TÜNAŞ, and President and General Manager Hwang Kiyeon on behalf of KEXIM.
With the agreement, a cooperation framework for potential financing solutions will be established within the scope of all nuclear power plant projects to be carried out by TÜNAŞ.
KEXIM and TÜNAŞ will develop cooperation on financial modeling and analysis and financing structures. A working group will be established to regularly exchange information and explore possible future cooperation opportunities.
Joint projects will be developed
Minister Bayraktar, whose views were included in the statement, stated that joint studies will be carried out in the field of energy with the agreements signed between the two countries and added:
"With the agreements, we will develop joint studies in all fields of energy, especially nuclear energy and clean energy technologies, and advance collaborations that will bring together our resource potential in critical minerals and rare earth elements with technology, investment and high value-added production. We will closely follow the reflection of these studies into practice with the Turkey-Korea Energy Conversion Forum, which will be held alternately once a year, and provide continuity to our high-level dialogue. In addition, we will support the Nuclear Power Project Financing signed between TÜNAŞ and KEXIM in the presence of the leaders." "With the Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation, a cooperation framework has been created to evaluate potential financing opportunities for the nuclear power plant projects to be developed by TÜNAŞ in our country. I hope that these agreements, which will bring the engineering, technology and industrial know-how of our countries to joint projects, will be beneficial."
On the other hand, Minister Bayraktar met with senior managers of South Korea's largest public electricity distribution company, KEPCO, as part of his contacts. Bayraktar also met with senior managers of South Korean permanent magnet manufacturer JS Link.
